There are still a number of obstacles preventing Poland and the Czech Republic from settling their dispute over the Turów coal mine – which is currently costing Warsaw €500,000 per day in fines from the European Union – says the Czech prime minister.
Petr Fiala says that talks, which have been recently been held between the two countries’ environment ministers, may soon switch to prime ministerial level, though he did not indicate when he may meet with Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki.
Last year, Prague brought an unprecedented legal case against Poland, arguing that it had violated environmental rules at Turów, which sits alongside the Czech border. In May, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered operations there to be suspended, then in September began fining Poland €500,000 a day for not complying.
Warsaw has so far insisted that it will neither close down the mine – which it says provides 4-7% of Poland’s electricity production – nor pay the fines, which have now reached a total of almost €65 million. Instead, it has sought to find a negotiated solution with the Czech government.
However, despite discussions taking place over the last nine months, and periodic claims from the Polish side that a deal is close to being agreed, so far the impasse has not been broken. In October, a Polish deputy minister accused the Czechs of “behaving in an irrational way” over the dispute.
After a change of government in Prague in December, the latest round of talks last week saw the two countries’ environment ministers discuss a draft agreement. Afterwards, Poland’s Anna Moskwa said that her side was “ready to sign it even today”, but that the Czechs needed to discuss it further internally.
Earlier this week, a spokesman for the Czech environment ministry, Ondrzej Charvat, said that the agreement would provide financing from the Polish side for monitoring the mine’s environmental impact as well as for constructing water supply systems in the area, reports TVN.
However, after the Czech government met yesterday to discuss the issue, Prime Minister Fiala announced that further negotiations with Warsaw would be needed.
Poland has fired its ambassador to Prague after he blamed his country for the ongoing dispute over Turów coal mine.
The envoy, who was only appointed two months ago, said the Polish side had shown "arrogance" and "lack of empathy" towards the Czechs https://t.co/4SSctBLici
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 7, 2022
“There are matters that are still open, where there is no agreement between the Czech and the Polish side,” said Fiala, quoted by Onet. “We are unable to sign the agreement. Negotiations will continue. We will probably look for a solution with the participation of the prime ministers of both countries.”
Unofficial reports in Polish media indicate that differences remain over the amount Poland will pay – with the Czechs wanting €50 million but the Poles proposing €40 million – as well as the length of the ECJ’s supervision of the settlement, with Prague calling for 10 years and Warsaw wanting just two.
Last week, the European Commission announced that, because Poland has so far refused to pay the fines it has been accruing for failing to close down Turów, it would seek to take the first tranche of €15 million from the country’s EU funds.
Main image credit: Vondraussen/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY 3.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
